Leaves in Twilight
by Thistlepath
Summary: Leafkit has been having nightmares. That's usually fine, you just wake up and forget about them, but these nightmares are a bit different. He is now faced with a Difficult choice , and he must decide before he receives his warrior name. (full cover here: /art/Leaves-in-Twilight-712911994)
1. Chapter 1

**I'm so sorry that I've been gone so long, I'm going to try to go back and re-write my old stories at some point, for now I'm going to write this.**

Leaves In Twilight

Two young kits sprinted around the Windclan camp, racing each other for the third time that day and waking the elders from their nap.

A small black and dark gray kitten, Ashenkit, was currently in the lead, giggling as his brother ran behind him. The other, a white and ginger kit with bright yellow eyes named Leafkit, growled playfully as he struggled to keep up.

Suddenly Ashenkit tripped on a sharp rock sticking out of the ground and yowled in pain and surprise. Leafkit quickly skidded to a stop beside him.

"Ashenkit! Are you okay!" He mewled, ears folded back as he helped his brother up. The dark kitten whimpered in pain, holding up a bleeding forepaw.

"I-I need to go to Nightflower!" He cried, quickly limping toward the medicine den. Leafkit watched silently as his playmate left, judging by the size of the cut on his pad and his terror he could be in there for hours. The white and ginger tom padded back to the nursery, wishing that more kits would arrive for him to play with. He glanced at his mother, Dusklight, sleeping in the fading sunlight. He sighed and padded into the empty den and curled up in his nest of soft moss and rabbit fur.

Leafkit's eyes opened slowly and he blinked in confusion. His warm den had been replaced by a dim forest bathed in soft moonlight. He cautiously sat up, glancing around the small clearing he'd found himself in. This place seemed fake to Leafkit, as if it was all a reflection in a puddle. Suddenly a loud purr sounded from behind him and he whipped around with a screech. Behind him was a white she-cat with a dark gray tail and ears; she seemed slightly see-through and only slightly more 'real' than the forest around her.

"Leafkit! Oh, I've waited so long to see you!" She purred loudly, almost sounding like a growling dog more than a cat, though her voice was smooth and sweet as honey.

"Who are you? W-Where am I?" He whimpered as she leaped through the tall grass to stand beside him.

"Why, I'm your auntie Whitetail! Has no one told you of me?" She purred. Whitetail? Leafkit recognized that name, if only barely, perhaps the elders had told stories of her? There was one thing he knew for certain though.

"You aren't my Aunt! I don't have any! Only two uncles!" He said smugly. "You must be a Dark forest cat like Momma talked about!" He was very proud of himself for figuring it out so quickly and not being tricked like the cats from the stories. But Whitetail only laughed.

"No no no! I would never associate with them! I am your great Aunt, though i prefer 'Auntie' as it fits my age better."

Leafkit paused, he'd never been told he didn't have a great aunt. Plus she seemed nice enough.

"Okay..." he looked around the forest again. "Is this starclan then? I thought it would have more stars..." now Whitetail paused, her eyes gazing sorrowfully at her paws.

"Unfortunately, no... we've been calling this horrible place 'The Twilight Forest' as it is locked in eternal twilight. It's an... in between place." She mewed softly. He thought about what she had said for a moment before realizing something.

"'We've'?" He mewed, confused. Whitetail opened her mouth to answer him but was interrupted by an angry yowl.

"What the fox-dung are you doing, Mouse-brain!?" A rough voice screeched from the trees, soon followed by its' owner. She was a dark gray she-cat with light gray spots and flecks, she was also visibly furious. Her thin fur stood on end and her tail lashed from side to side over her arched back.

"Eep!" Leafkit quickly ducked behind his 'Great Aunt' as the white she-cat started hissing as well. Whitetail glanced at him and her gaze softened.

"I'm trying to help my little nephew. Watch your language, by the way, he's only five moons old." She mewed calmly.

"Who's that?!" Leafkit squeaked.

The gray cat stalked closer to the pair and sat a foxlength away.

"I'm Grayspots. I'm your other Great Aunt, the one who isn't a murderous fox-heart-"

"Murderous?!" Leafkit squealed, backing away from both 'Aunties' before they could even blink.

"Me?!" Whitetail screeched. "You were the 'Murderous' one! I was only-"

"Only trying to get everyone killed just so you could have nine lives!" Grayspots yowled. Leafkit continued backing away, incredibly confused by the shouting cats in front of him. He turned as they leaped at each other, letting out a small squeak as he started sprinting in the opposite direction. He stopped only after the sound of the screeching she-cats was barely audible. He sat under a small bush, whimpering softly.

"What's going on?" He mewled. "I want to go home!" Suddenly there was a rustling noise behind him and he whirled around, worried that he had been found. Fortunately, his Aunts were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, a large adder was coiled up behind him ready to strike. He screamed as it lunged toward him.

Leafkit woke up. It was dark in the nursery, with only the soft light of the moon and stars shining through gaps in the walls. The ginger and white kit glanced around the den, finding his mother and brother curled up nearby. He sighed, smiling as he realized that it was just a nightmare, and went back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Leaves in Twilight 2

Leafkit yawned and opened his eyes. after his odd nightmare the night before he had slept soundly, dreaming of butterflies and squirrels. He blinked in confusion, this was not where he had fallen asleep. He wasn't in the nursery anymore, he was outside the elders den, several foxlenghths away!

"What?" He mewed softly. The sun had only barely begun to rise, leaving much of the camp in shadows, but the dawn patrol was just beginning to leave. They didn't seem to notice or care that he had apparently been sleeping at the entrance to the elders den.

"How did I get here?" He squeaked. One of the warriors, Ravenfether, seemed to notice his distress and crossed the camp to stand beside him.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, wrapping his long, jet black tail around the confused kit comfortingly. Leafkit looked up at the black and silver tom and smiled weakly.

"I'm okay, but do you know how I got here?" He mewled. Ravenfeather froze, odd gray/blue eyes wide with worry.

"You walked here, remember? I said good morning and you ignored me. Are you sure you're okay?" The older tom mewed calmly, staring intently into Leafkit's eyes.

"I-" Leafkit paused. "My head hurts..." the ginger and white kit squeaked as he was picked up by his scruff. Ravenfeather half carried, half dragged him to the medicine den in a few leaps.

"Nightflower!" He mewed, hoping the medicine cat was awake. A pale gray tabby she-cat with ice blue eyes and white paws peaked out of the den, seeing the worried Ravenfeather and dazed Leafkit.

"Raven, what's going on?" She asked, touching noses with her brother briefly before crouching to inspect Leafkit.

"I don't know, you're the healer! He was up and walking around just fine, but collapsed by the elders den and now he can't remember stuff." The dark tom mewed worriedly.

"Well, leave him with me, I'll figure this out. Your patrol is waiting for you." Nightflower said, glancing toward the camp entrance where a small group of cats sat patiently.

"...Okay." Ravenfeather said, still staring down at Leafkit, he turned slowly then sprinted to where the rest of the patrol was waiting. Nightflower picked Leafkit up, despite his protests that he could walk, and carried him to an empty nest in the den. There was only one other occupant, a thin elder who had been in and out of the medicine den twelve times in the past three moons, many of the warriors were worried that she wouldn't last much longer.

"Leafkit, can you remember anything before Ravenfeather talked to you?" Nightflower mewed softly while checking the kit for injuries or signs of illness.

"No, I thought I had just woken up. Am I sick?" Leafkit asked

"You don't seem sick, but I'm going to keep you here for a while to make sure. Does any thing hurt? Do you feel dizzy or disoriented?"

"What does 'disoriented mean?"

"It means that it's hard to tell directions"

"Oh. Well, my head kind of hurts, but I'm not dizzy or the other thing." Leafkit mewed.

"Hmm... are you sure nothing strange happened before you woke up?"

"N-" Leafkit froze, remembering his strange nightmare, could it have something to do with this? "No, i don't think so." He mumbled. It was just a dream, it couldn't hurt him. He shouldn't bother her about it. Nightflower nodded and padded further into the den to the place where she kept most of her herbs. She returned quickly, carrying a poppy seed on a small leaf.

"Here, eat this and go back to sleep, I need some time to think about this." She mewed, placing the leaf beside him. He obediently ate the tiny seed and curled up in the moss.

Leafkit sneezed, a bit of grass was tickling his nose. He sat up, eyes wide, as he realized where he was.

"The Twilight Forest..." he squeaked, horrified.

"Yes, little one, you are back." A rough voice purred. "I'm sorry for my horrible behavior last time, being around that foxheart upsets me." Grayspots said. Leafkit winced as he tried to stand up, his shoulder burned like fire.

"Shh, don't get up. That adder really messed you up, little one." Grayspots moved into his vision and curled up on the slightly damp ground. "Besides, we don't want that foxhearted mousebrain to find us."

"You mean Auntie?" Leafkit mewed, confused. The gray she-cat frowned.

"Yes. Now Leafkit, you need to know something. Neither of us could explain before, and since she's not here to interrupt i'm going to explain my way." Grayspots took a moment to clear her throat while Leafkit glanced around the makeshift den he had woken up in.

"Ehem. Long ago, me, your grandmother and Whitetail had just become warriors. Now, she'll disagree with me if I tell you the truth, so I'll be neutral. One of us *cough*Whitetail*cough, cough* decided that being a warrior wasn't enough. She wanted power." Grayspots snorted at that last bit. "Should've listened to the elders stories. Anyway, she betrayed the clans and made a deal with the Dark forest. They would hide her from Starclan's view, along with her sister to keep them from guessing. They were too scared that they would punish the innocent sister to do anything about it besides warning the clans. In the end there was a battle, the two sisters killed each other, and because Starclan didn't know who was evil and who was good they sent both here to wait for you. You are our judge, our executioner, and hopefully our key out of here." Grayspot's unblinking yellow eyes bored into his, as if daring him to question the validity of her story. Leafkit had heard this story before, but he had only been a few weeks old then, an elder had told it to him. The one who was currently sleeping in the nest beside his.

"Leafkit?" Grayspots hissed, her tail lashing. "Are you awake?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. What did you say?" He answered.

"Good. This is the most important part. Both me and 'Auntie' can temporarily... well... possess you. That's what happened this morning." She mewed.

"...what?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for taking so long XS I was having a bit of writers-block.**

 **Answers for:**

 **Blazing Bright Streak of Light:** **well, you're kind of right. Try looking up 'Dream moods' it's a dream meaning dictionary. There are going to be more Things like this through the whole story :3**

 **Tackmaniadude: what do you mean 'Wat'? *throws Marshmellow***

Leafkit woke with a start, standing over an old, thin elder who was calmly staring down at her shoulder where his tiny claws we're digging into her fur. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Has it started then?" She mewed. He quickly stepped off of the elder, his eyes wide with fear.

"I-I'm sorry! It wasn't me!" He whimpered as he backed away. The Elder blinked and sat up, smiling slightly.

"I know, little one, I know." She purred weakly. A small thump sounded from the entrance where Nightflower Was now standing, a small pile of herbs dropped at her paws. The medicine-cat immediately ran to the elder's side, scattering the fallen herbs in her panic.

"Aspenheart, what on earth are you doing up?! You're Supposed to be resting!" She mewed, gently nudging the older cat back into her nest. Aspenheart snorted but obediently curled back up in the soft moss.

"I was only talking. Is that not allowed anymore?" She grumbled. It was then that Nightflower noticed the small claw marks on the elders shoulder.

"What happened?!" She hissed, quickly examining the injury before turning to the pile of scattered herbs and sorting through them for what she needed. Aspenheart glanced at Leafkit, whose ears folded back guiltily, and smiled softly.

"Oh, there was a thorn in my nest, but this sweet kit found it for me." She purred, gesturing for him to come closer with her tail. He slowly padded toward her, a clearly fake smile on his face. Nightflower stared suspiciously at Leafkit for a moment but turned Back to heal the elder's scratches.

"Alright, now you make sure you get plenty of rest." The medicine cat purred. She then switched her gaze back to the kit standing awkwardly behind her. "Now, Leafkit, are you feeling any better?"

"Um, y-yeah. I'm fine now." He muttered back, still worried about what was going on. Grayspots had said that she and Whitetail could control him, but why would they want to kill Aspenheart?

"Alright, I'm just going to make sure you're really alright. Sit still." Nightflower checked his eyes, his temperature and his coordination, eventually deciding he was okay to leave. He glanced at Aspenheart, he had to talk to her, She seemed to know about all this craziness. But he ran outside anyway, he couldn't talk to her in front of Nightflower.

"Leafkit!" A dark gray blur smashed into the white and ginger kit, knocking him to the ground. Ashenkit sat smugly on-top of his brother, purring loudly as Leafkit groaned.

"Hi, Ashenkit. Do you want to play?" Leafkit mewled once he recovered. He needed to distract himself from all this craziness.

 **so, there you go :3 I'm not a very fast writer, and I'm not good at writing longer chapters, so sorry about that :3 I just wanted to post something so you wouldn't think I was dead X)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Answers:**

 **The Unromantic Libra: thank you X3**

As Leafkit and Ashenkit played they noticed Nightflower enter Owlstar's den. The brothers paused their epic battle and watched her.

"Do you think it's a prophacy?" Ashenkit mewed exitedly. "Maybe it's about us and we'll be heros!"

"Or villains..." leafkit mumbled under his breath, thinking of what had happened that morning. He glanced back at the medicine den, realising that now Aspenheart was alone.

"Um, sorry, ashenkit. I need to go for a second." He mewed, starting to walk away. Ashenkit's ears drooped and he nodded.

"Come back quickly!"

"I will."

Leafkit leaped through the medicine den's entrance. "Aspenheart-"

"I need to talk to you-" he froze. He was back in the forest again. "Nonononono! I need to wake up!" He glanced around and saw a small pond covered in a layer of algae. He sprinted toward it and leaped in. Just before his head went under he heard a voice scream his name. He didn't wake up. He was sinking in the water, not even slowed down in his decent by the liquid. The pond was deeper than it had looked from the surface. He started to panic, thrashing his limbs everywhere, but it felt more like falling through air than water. His vision blurred and he was suddenly on dry land, though his paws still felt wet. he was in the medicine den again. He let out a sigh of relief and looked up, his relieved feeling suddenly died. No, it shattered into a thousand pieces and each of those pieces exploded and then every last surviving shard burned to ash in the resulting fire. But hey, at least he knew why his paws felt wet now. Aspenheart lay in front of him, a large gash on her throat and blood pooling around her.

"No...nonononoNo!" He yowled. He'd been too late! He collapsed, staring at the dead she-cat and sobbing.

"Leafkit?!" It was Nightflower's voice. Leafkit didn't care. He sat there, limp and uncaring as cat's entered the medicine den, one of them picked him up by his scruff and carried him outside in silence. He heard his mother scream and felt her begin cleaning his fur. He didn't look at any of them, he just stared at the den where he- no, it wasn't him- one of _them_ had killed Aspenheart. Suddenly, one voice cut through the rest.

"Leafkit, what did you _do?! "_ Ashenkit mewled, he was staring in horror at his brother. Leafkit looked up at him.

"I-i didn't-"

"Leafkit, why did you do this?" Owlstar padded to stand in front of the horrified white and ginger kit.

"I di-didn't. It w-wasn't me- I was just trying to to talk to-o her..." he whimpered between gasps and sobs. "It was _t-them! They_ M-made me do it!" The whole clan watched in silence as Owlstar blinked in confusion.

"Who was it then, little one?" He asked quietly. Every leader was told and re-told the story of the battle with the dark forest, and every kit was told the story at least once. Had it returned? The kit just shivered. Nightflower padded forward quietly, eyes downcast as she whispered something in Owlstar's ear. The leaders eyes widened slightly and he nodded.

"Leafkit, follow me. Now." Nightflower mewed, she sounded emotionless. Leafkit got up off of the dusty ground and padded after her, back into the medicine den. Someone had taken Aspenheart out of the den, something Leafkit was very grateful for.

"Have you been having nightmares lately?" Nightflower asked, glaring down at him.

"Y-yes." Leafkit sniffled.

"Tell me about them." She mewed. He started to describe the strange dreams, becoming more and more angry as he continued. Once he got to the part where he jumped into the pond Nightflower stopped him, looking slightly sick.

"That- that's enough, Leafkit." She sighed, glancing at Aspenheart's empty nest. "I had hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with this."

"Deal with what?" His need to know what was going on outweighed his horror and sorrow.

"Two generations ago, your grandmother's sisters were blocked from starclan's view by the darkforest, one of them was planning to kill the old leader. She lead a group of rogues into the camp, promising to let them stay in the clan if they killed the deputy and leader, allowing her to take their place. Her sister had followed her and heard of this plan. They fought and killed each-other in the battle, no-one knew which was which. Starclan has told each Windclan medicine-cat about this since then, along with a prophecy that once there was no bias toward either sister one of their descendants would be chosen to judge them. Leafkit, you were chosen."

 **yay! Another chapter! Comments help me update faster ;D**


	5. Chapter 5

**answers:**

 **Blazing Bright Streak of Light: Yeah, sure, he'll be _perfectly_ fine.**

 **The Unromantic Libra: muahahaHaHaHaHaHAHAHAHAHA!**

Leafkit padded silently across the Windclan camp, trying to ignore the glares of the other cats as he headed toward the medicine den. It had been two days since Aspenheart's death, but he hadn't visited the Twilight Forest again until just that morning. He hadn't seen either of his 'Great Aunts' there, but he did notice that it looked like someone had dragged him out of the pond.

"Nightflower?" He mewed softly as he entered. "I need to talk to you." The pale gray and white tabby she-cat turned to him from where she sat sorting herbs.

"What is it?" She said.

"Why can't we tell anyone?" He asked. his tail was dragging in the dust and his yellow eyes had become dull from lack of sleep . For two days he had kept his 'destiny' hidden. for two days he had endured the glares of the warriors and the cruelty of the apprentices. For two days he had sat alone, his own brother avoiding him.

"If we told them they might try to force you to chose early, or delay you, or convince you to chose who _they_ think is innocent. Plus, after the battle with the dark-forest news like this could cause panic. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait to tell anyone." She answered quickly, voice void of emotion.

"Not even Ashenkit?"

Nightflower turned to repeat herself, but the words died in chef throat when she saw Leafkit's face. She had never seen a face so sad in her life.

"...you may tell Ashenkit. But only if he promises not to tell anyone else." She mewed reluctantly. Leafkit needed a friend, she thought, otherwise he might go insane. Leafkit's eyes brightened and he said a quick thank you before leaping through the exit and bounding across camp to the nursery.

"Ashenkit!" He called excitedly, this time successfully ignoring the angry cats around him. "I need to tell you something!" Their mother had moved back into the warriors den that morning, so the black and gray kitten was alone in the small den.

"What." Ashenkit mewed. He looked sad, but hopeful. No one had really told him exactly what had happened, or their version of what happened until Sparrowpaw very bluntly told him that Leafkit was a murderer. He hoped Leafkit would tell him what was going on instead of hiding all the time.

"You need to promise never to tell anyone else, okay? I have a secret." He mewed, feeling _happy_ for the first time since Aspenheart's death. Ashenkit sat up in his nest.

"I promise." He mewed, his chest puffed out like a warrior getting a special mission.

Leafkit quickly told the whole story, leaving out some of the darker details, from what he knew of their 'great aunts' to now.

"W-wow." Ashenkit mewed softly. "So, when Nightflower went to Owlstar's den, do you think she was talking about you?" He asked.

"I think she was talking about both of us. She didn't seem to be sure it was me until- you know..."

"So it _was_ a prophecy about us!" He purred, trying to cheer his brother up. Leafkit laughed and sat beside Ashenkit. "I bet one of us will become the leader or something, that's how it goes in all of Icepath's stories!"

Leafkit closed his eyes and purred loudly, glad to have his brother back. Soft green grass brushed against his fur as he started to stand, wanting to play. ...grass? His eyes snapped open and he screamed in frustration.

"Not him too!" He wailed. He quickly whipped around, looking for any sign of his aunts so he could shred their ears. Nothing. He was alone again. "Come on, wake up!"

Maybe he was still near the pond, it had been unpleasant but at least it had woken him up. It was gone. Or maybe he had jut been moved. Either way, where the pond had been, a small clearing now was. Several unnaturally large beetles crawled through the grass and he got the feeling that it was bad there.

"Starclan, Dark-forest, _anyone,_ help me!" He yowled into the darkness.

A heavy weight crashed into him, forcing him to the ground. He gasped and quickly turned to face his attacker. Ashenkit stood above him, his golden eyes blazing with rage and his fur fluffed up to make him look twice his real size.

"Ashenkit!" Leafkit cried in relief, he was okay! Ashenkit's eyes softened and his fur flattened.

"Leafkit? Is that really you?"

"Yes! I'm awake now!" The white and ginger tom mewed. Ashenkit stepped off of his brother and sat down, allowing Leafkit to get up.

"Your eyes got all weird and you started talking funny." The black and gray kit mewled. "Was that one of them?"

"I think so, thank you for waking me up! I don't want the to hurt anyone else." He paused. "I think I need to talk to Nightflower about this. Maybe she can get Starclan to help."

"Well then I'm going with you." Ashenkit mewed, pressing up against Leafkit's side. "Somebody's got to make sure you don't get into trouble."

"Thank you."

The brothers padded out of the nursery to find several pairs of eyes focused on them. They weren't the angry glares of earlier, they were concerned. For a moment Leafkit wondered why, but soon realized that he had been alone with Ashenkit, and they had probably heard Ashenkit fighting 'him'. He lowered his eyes, half hiding behind his brother. He was suddenly even more glad for Ashenkit's support now.

...

"What." Nightflower mewed, a flash of surprise in her usually expressionless eyes.

"I need to talk to Starclan, or you to give them a message." Leafkit squeaked, trying to sound confident. And failing. Ashenkit pressed up against his side comfortingly. Nightflower was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. I will be going to the Moon-pool in three days. You can go with me then." She said, frowning.

"Really?" Leafkit mewled. The two kits grinned and Ashenkit purred. Nightflower sighed.

"If I don't help you, you'll just sneak out anyway. This way, you're more likely to survive the trip." She flicked her tail dismissively and turned away. The brothers quickly left, whispering exitedly together. Nightflower glanced back at them and smiled softly.

...

Leafkit groaned as they got to another hill, the moons dim light barely helping in the darkness. He and Nightflower padded up the incline, they were nearly there. As the moonpool came into view five other cats could be seen beside it. Leafkit's eyes widened at the sight of the slightly glowing water, the moon almost directly above it, and the spiral path leading down to it.

"Nightflower!" A blue/gray tom mewed, purring and padding closer to greet his friend. "Who's this, An apprentice so soon?" He bent down to smile at Leafkit.

"Hello Bluepelt. This is leafkit, he has to speak with Starclan. Leafkit, this is Bluepelt, the Shadowclan medicine-cat.

"Um, hi?" Leafkit squeaked. The other cats began crowding around to see him.

"Why would you bring a kit here?" A silver she-cat mewed sternly. "You know this meeting is for medicine-cats and their apprentices only." A russet tabby she-cat flicked her tail at the silver one.

"She says he has something to talk to Starclan about. If _she_ thinks it's that important, it's Probably worth breaking tradition once." She mewed, sitting down beside Bluepelt. The last two cats shrugged.

"Um. Do do they not know either?" Leafkit whispered to Nightflower. The gray she-cat nodded.

"This does not concern them."

"They look pretty concerned." Leafkit mewled back, watching the silver cat as she glared at his russet defender.

"Flowerpelt is an idiot, just ignore her." Nightflower mewed, following his gaze. "Now," she said in a louder voice. "I think it is time." The other medicine-cats and their apprentices looked up at the moon, which was now directly overhead. They quickly padded back to the pool and sat around it, leafkit sat beside Nightflower and watched as the other cats carefully drank from the shining water and immediately fell asleep. He looked down at the water and cautiously drank a tiny drop of the liquid.

...

Leafkit looked around at the star-filled forest around him. It was calm and quiet here, especially compared to the restless Twilight Forest he saw in his dreams.

"Hello, Starclan? I need your help!" He called, smiling slightly. Finally, he would get some answers!

"Leafkit." A she-cat's voice mewed from behind him.

"Aspenheart?" He whipped around, his smile vanishing. There she was, sitting a foxlength away.

"Leafkit, I'm sorry, but we cannot-"

"I'm so sorry!" He mewled, rushing to the black and gray elder and pressing up against her side. "I tried to stop them, I didn't- I didn't want them to-"

"Leafkit, I know. And I'm so sorry that they blame you." They sat for a moment, her tail wrapped around him comfortingly.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I need to ask you-" Leafkit started, but was interrupted.

"We cannot help you." Aspenheart sighed, looking down at the white and ginger tom.

"W-why not?! I _need_ help!"

"Leafkit, none of us have any new information for you. And even if we did, we would tell Nightflower. We can't risk bringing you here."

"What do you mean?" Leafkit mewed, disappointed.

"When you're here or in the Twilight Forest _they_ are able to take over-" Leafkit leaped to his paws.

"I need to wake up! Now!" He leaped towards one of the trees and began scrambling up it's trunk.

"Leafkit! Calm down, I can wake you up if it's needed. There is something we still need to talk about." Aspenheart hissed, picking him up by his scruff and placing him safely on the ground. "Leafkit, you haven't been sleeping."

"I can't sleep, what if they take over again and go after someone else!"

"They won't. They don't want to rush you'r choice by endangering your friends."

"Then why did-"

"They killed me to keep me from helping you. I was there, in the battle, I saw them. They probably think I know something."

"They tried to hurt Ashenkit too!" Leafkit shouted.

"I have been watching over you and your brother. They were trying to trick him, not kill him." Aspenheart purred soothingly as she wrapped her tail around leafkit again. "Get some sleep, little one. Let them talk to you. How else will you decide?"

 **yay! Another chapter! This is going to be a pretty short story, we're about halfway through :3**


	6. Chapter 6

**Libra: thanks!**

 **Rocketsword: thank you X3**

Leafkit frowned and curled up in his nest beside Ashenkit. The gray and black kit sat with his tail wrapped around his brother, he had agreed to keep watch while Leafkit slept.

"Good night."

"See you soon." Leafkit closed his eyes.

A cricket was cherping nearby. Leafkit opened his eyes again and stood up, trying to look threatening.

"Whitetail, Grayspots! I need to talk to you!"

"Yes?" A voice from directly behind him mewed. He yelped and whipped around to face the other cat.

"Oh, W-whitetail, it's you." He panted, heart still beeting rapidly from surprise. "Where's Grayspots?" The white she-cat smiled and flicked her tail toward a nearby tree. A pair of glowing yellow eyes could be seen among it's branches. Slowely the gray she-cat crept out of the shadows and leaped down beside him.

"Hello again, young one." She grunted, settling down on a patch of soft moss.

"H-hi." Leafkit mewed, backing up slightly. The two cats made him feel incredibly unsafe. "I came to ask you some questions."

"And we came to answer them." Whitetail purred cheerfully.

"What happens if i don't chose in time?" He asked, afrade of the answer.

"Well, by the time you get your warrior name we will be powerfull enough to trap your soul here and take your place. Permanently." Grayspots mewed bluntly. "Chosing incorrectly will have a similar effect, though a bit more reversable."

Leafkit bristled and instinctively backed up a bit more.

"W-why would Starclan let that happen?!" He squeaked.

"Sweety, Starclan doesn't have anything to do with it. This world is manipulated and powered by your dreams, which we use to keep ourselves alive. Us and everything else here are slowely draining you're power and soon you'll be weak and we will be strong. We can't help it." Whitetail shrugged. "If you chose soon you might still be able to fight back if you get it wrong." She smiled comfortingly. It didnt help. Leafkit felt like he was being crushed by some giant invisible paw, making it hard to breath.

"Leafkit, calm down. You have pleanty of time-" Grayspots started. Leafkit heard a rustling behind him and quickly turned arround. The adder had returned.

...

Leafkit jumped awake, startling Ashenkit to his paws.

"Leafkit! Are you okay?!" The gray kit mewed as he wrapped his tail around his hyperventalating brother.

"I-i...i don't think i am..." Leafkit wimpered


End file.
